CHAPTER 5

Starsky and the younger gunman wrestled with the gun as the passengers watched in horror…taking cover behind their seats.  Hutch noticed the other gunman making his way back through the doorway of the cockpit…he knew that he had to do something fast.  He quickly moved to the wall near the passageway. The other man didn’t see him because his back was turned to keep his eye on the stewardess and the pilot …and the younger gunman had his hands too full with Starsky to notice him either.

As the older gunman entered the compartment he saw his partner wrestling with Starsky…and was too distracted by it to notice Hutch as he leaped from behind him and knocked the gun out of his hand.  Hutch had him pinned in a matter of a couple of seconds but Starsky was still having problems.

Cassie watched as Starsky did his best against his attacker…but they were both about the same height and build…each not about to let the other win.

Suddenly Starsky lost his balance and had to use one of his hands to support himself before he fell to the floor…the other man took the opportunity to wrap his fist around the barrell of the gun tightly and struck Starsky hard in the face.  Sending him flying backwards against the seats behind him. With blood beginning to drip from the gash in his cheek. He staggered to his feet but was quickly hit again with the butt of the gun in the back of the head and sent to the floor…out cold.

Hutch still held a firm grip on the other man…but he knew with Starsky on the floor and a gun now held in a firing position above his head, he would have to relinquish his hold.   He couldn’t let them kill his partner.

The younger gunman looked over at Hutch… and then down at the motionless man on the floor.

“Back off or watch him die!” the younger gunman said as he held the gun closer to Starsky's head…grabbing him by his hair and lifting him up high enough so that Hutch could get a good look at him.  At such close range…the shot would rip his face off and Hutch knew it…so he released his grip.
 

A wallet lay on the floor next to the younger gunman.  As Hutch moved slowly away with his hands raised…the wallet was picked up and investigated.

“Hey…Charlie…He’s a COP!”  The younger gunman said as he called his partner by name.

“Guess we’ll have to burn him…” Charlie said as he picked up the gun that Hutch had knocked out of his hand.

“NO….” Cassie shouted with tears streaming down her face…as she started to go to him.   “PLEASE…”

Hutch grabbed her by the shoulder and held her back.

“She’s the one that started this whole thing.” The younger man said.  “Still so willing to cooperate …Baby?”

“I’ll do whatever you want if you don’t kill him.” Cassie told him.

Hutch was stunned by her gesture…he knew that the thought of his hands on her must terrify her…but he figured watching Starsky die in front of her would be even worse.  Anyway he wouldn’t let it get that far…and she just might have bought them some time.

Starsky slowly began to come to…pushing himself up off the floor.  Hutch instinctively started to walk towards him when he was stopped by a gun in his face.

“My partner is hurt…I just want to bring him back to his seat and check him out.” Hutch told them.

“Partner?” Charlie replied as he looked at the other gunman. “What do you mean Partner…you a cop too?” He asked already realizing the answer to his question.  “Hey…Joey…looks like we got ourselves two hero’s”

“We should just kill em’ both now…and get it over with.” Joey replied. “What do we need em’ for?”

Hutch knew what kind of men they were…they had already blown away the Co-pilot and two FBI agents.  Killing a couple of cops would be easy.  He had to think of something quick.  He decided to take a new approach.

“Look…if your gonna kill me then just do it…other wise I’m gonna go over there and I’m gonna help my partner and frankly, I don’t really give a damn what your plans are…just leave us out of it.” He told them hoping that he could convince them of his sincerity.

“Go on Cop…but you try anything else and …we’ll hurt your little  girlfriend.” Joey told him as he shoved Hutch in Starsky’s direction.

Hutch leaned down to Starsky who was moaning and resting on his arm with his head in one of the front seats.  He could see blood oozing from the back of his neck and the gash on his face ran from the edge of his left eye and halfway down his cheek. Hutch lifted him up enough to sit in the seat and began to rip the sleeves of his own shirt into pieces to use as bandages…wrapping a piece around Starskys head and tied it like a bandana.  Then he cleaned off the wound on his face with another.

Charlie grabbed hold of the navigator’s feet and began to drag him down the aisle into the coach compartment. He had a concussion and his blonde hair was full of blood.  Cassie watched as he passed by her…then turned her attention to Starsky.  He was starting to come around.  She crawled across the floor slowly in front of Joey and as she reached Starsky’s feet she
wrapped her arms around his leg and rested her head on the top of his thigh…tears streaming down her face.  He reached down and put his hand on her head as Hutch attended to his wounds.

Joey watched as Cassie crawled over to him and thought about what she had said moments ago. They had a few hours before they would land and he figured he could have a little fun with her. If he put the other passengers and the two cops in coach, they would have first class all to themselves.

“Hey buddy…how many fingers do you see?” Hutch asked him as he raised two of his in the air in front of his face.

“Four” he replied as he looked up at his partner.

“Well just close one eye and you’ll be fine.” Hutch kidded him.

Starsky let go a small laugh…and then made a pained expression as his head throbbed with the gesture.

With Starsky fully awake…and holding onto the back of his head.  Hutch grabbed hold of Cassie and sat her in the seat beside him.  She held onto his hand and sat sideways in the seat to talk to him.

“You alright?” She asked him.

“Terrific” He said as he managed to give her a weak smile…she knew he was still in a lot of pain.

Joey began to pull the other first class passengers out of their seats telling them to get in the back…the Pregnant woman let out a moan and he noticed that she was breathing heavily. She was going into labor.

“OH SHIT…that’s all we need.” He told her. Then he went back to the front again.

Charlie walked back towards the passageway to make his way back to the cockpit.  “Keep and eye on em’…and don’t do anything stupid.” He told Joey…and then he disappeared.

“You two get in the back with the rest of em’…” Joey told Starsky and Hutch. They both started to get up as Starsky held onto Cassie’s hand to bring her with him.

“Not her…leave her here.” He said.

“C’mon…she’s just a kid…let her alone.” Starsky told him as he pulled her close to him.

“She sure don’t look like no kid to me…Don’t cause any trouble Cop.” He said as he glared at him and pointed his gun in Starsky’s face.

Starsky turned away from him and let go of Cassie as if he were going to walk away. Then he quickly jumped back towards him and wrestled him to the floor…the gun between them.

Hutch pulled Cassie out of the way and started to rush in to help him, when he heard the sound as the gun went off…and Cassie screamed.

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